Tadcaster's delight after county council propose new footbridge location

Dan Windham

Tadcaster's long wait for a temporary footbridge could be over after a new location was proposed by North Yorkshire County Council.

The county council has proposed building the temporary footbridge downstream of the existing bridge and will be access from the east side of Selby District car park.

It will lead on to town council land on the west with a disabled access path leading through Tadcaster Albion's car park and alternative route directly onto Bridge Street.

Work on the footbridge will be completed in the next two to three weeks with the removal of a small number of trees needed before its completion.

Land belonging to Sam Smith's Old Brewery will not be used for the temporary footway after the it's owner, Humphrey Smith, refused building permission.

County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member and member for Tadcaster paid tribute to the town's hard work in securing the bridge but criticised the brewery for their recent unhelpful approach.

He said: "North Yorkshire County Council would like to thank Tadcaster Town Council, Selby District Council, the local MP Nigel Adams and in particular Tadcaster Albion Football Club for their support in finding a route for the community of Tadcaster to come together again.

"Past days have involved some very difficult negotiation with Sam Smith's Old Brewery, but the people of Tadcaster are wholly behind the need for a temporary footbridge while the county council's bridges specialists undertake the painstaking and highly skilled task of reconstructing the town's historic road bridge.

"We have therefore been working hard with our partners, the town and district councils and Nigel Adams MP, to find an alternative solution to building the footbridge on brewery land, especially when it became clear that the Sam Smith's Old Brewery was not prepared to help the town out during this crisis."

The county council met with more than 100 local businesses last week who suggested building a footbridge downstream in an effort to support local shops.

Following days of negotiation, the county council has managed to to find a suitable location for the footbridge despite being unable to use land belonging to the brewery.

Nigel Adams, MP for Seby and Ainsty, who has taken the fight for a footbridge to Downing Street, said he was delighted following the announcement.

He said: "The last few days have been difficult, but I cannot praise North Yorkshire County Council highly enough for delivering a solution that will reunite the town with no strings attached.

"I have been in contact with No 10 this morning to update them and the Prime Minister is also extremely pleased that a bridge will be in place within a matter of weeks."